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Matthew 22

Matthew 22:1Yeshua answered and spoke again in parables to them, saying,

Matthew 22:2The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son,

Matthew 22:3and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast, but they would not come.

Matthew 22:4Again he sent out other servants, saying, Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner. My cattle and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the marriage feast!

Matthew 22:5But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise,

Matthew 22:6and the rest grabbed his servants, and treated them shamefully, and killed them.

Matthew 22:7When the king heard that, he was angry, and sent his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

Matthew 22:8Then he said to his servants, The wedding is ready, but those who were invited weren’t worthy.

Matthew 22:9Go therefore to the intersections of the highways, and as many as you may find, invite to the marriage feast.

Matthew 22:10Those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good. The wedding was filled with guests.

Matthew 22:11But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who didn’t have on wedding clothing,

Matthew 22:12and he said to him, Friend, how did you come in here not wearing wedding clothing? He was speechless.

Matthew 22:13Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness, there is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.

Matthew 22:14For many are called, but few chosen.

Matthew 22:15Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk.

Matthew 22:16They sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, Rabbi, we know that you are honest, and teach the way of God in truth, no matter whom you teach, for you arent partial to anyone.

Matthew 22:17Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

Matthew 22:18But Yeshua perceived their wickedness, and said, Why do you test me, you hypocrites?

Matthew 22:20He asked them, Whose is this image and inscription?

Matthew 22:21They said to him, Caesar’s. Then he said to them, Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.

“. . . the great Moses has not named the species of the rational soul by a title resembling that of any created being, but has pronounced it an image of the divine and invisible being, making it a coin as it were of sterling metal, stamped and impressed with the seal of God, the impression of which is the eternal word.”Philo, Concerning Noah’s Work As a Planter, Section V, translated by C.D. Yonge

“For a person mints many coins with a single seal, and they are all alike one another. But the King of king of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, minted all human beings with that seal of his with which he made the first person, yet not one of them is like anyone else. Therefore everyone is obligated to maintain, “On my account the world was created.”Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:5

“Perhaps these theological concepts serve as a background for the saying of Jesus, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” After all, not only is Caesar’s image stamped upon each coin that he has minted; the divine image of the King of kings is stamped upon each person. Jesus was calling upon the people to give everything to God, the Creator of every human being.”Brad H. Young, The Parables, Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretation, Hendrickson Publishers, pg. 10

“Rabbi Elazar of Bartosa would say: Give Him what is His, for you, and whatever is yours, are His. As David says: “For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we give to You” (I Chronicles 29:14).”Pirkei Avot 3:7, cited at Chabad.org

Matthew 22:22When they heard it, they marveled, and left him, and went away.

Matthew 22:23On that day Sadducees (those who say that there is no resurrection) came to him. They asked him,

Matthew 22:24saying, Rabbi, Moses said, If a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed for his brother.

Matthew 22:25Now there were with us seven brothers. The first married and died, and having no seed left his wife to his brother.

Matthew 22:26In the same way, the second also, and the third, to the seventh.

Matthew 22:27After them all, the woman died.

Matthew 22:28In the resurrection therefore, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had her.

Matthew 22:29But Yeshua answered them, You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.

Matthew 22:30For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like Gods angels in heaven.

“A favorite saying of Rab was: [The future world is not like this world.] In the future world there is no eating nor drinking nor propagation nor business nor jealousy nor hatred nor competition, but the righteous sit with their crowns on their heads feasting on the brightness of the divine presence, as it says, ‘And they beheld G-d, and did eat and drink.”Berachot 17a, Soncino Press Edition

Matthew 22:31But concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read that which was spoken to you by God, saying,

Matthew 22:32I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Matthew 22:33When the multitudes heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.

Matthew 22:34But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered themselves together.

Matthew 22:35One of them, a Torah scholar, asked him a question, testing him.

Matthew 22:36Rabbi, which is the greatest commandment in the Torah?

Matthew 22:37Yeshua said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

Matthew 22:38This is the first and great commandment.

Matthew 22:39A second likewise is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22:40The whole Torah and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.

Matthew 22:41Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Yeshua asked them a question,

Matthew 22:42saying, What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he? They said to him, Of David.

Matthew 22:43He said to them, How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying,

Matthew 22:44HaShem said to my Lord, sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet? (Psalm 110:1)

Some interpret this passage as referring to Abraham,

R. Hana b. Liwai said: Shem, [Noah’s] eldest son, said to Eliezer [Abraham’s servant], ‘When the kings of the east and west attacked you, what did you do?’ – He replied, ‘The Holy One, blessed be He, took Abraham and placed him at His right hand, and they [God and Abraham] threw dust which turned to swords and chaff which turned to arrows, as it is written, A Psalm of David. The Lord said unto my master, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”Sanhedrin 108b, Soncino Press Edition

One thing we know for sure, is that whoever the speaker is in this psalm, the second “Lord” is greater than the speaker. While the above passages speak of Abraham as the one at God’s Right hand, the Midrash on Psalms places the Messiah there,

R. Yudan said in the name of R. Hama: In the time-to-come, when the Holy One, blessed be He, seats the lord Messiah at His right hand, as is said The Lord saith unto my lord: “Sit thou at My right hand” (Ps. 110:1), and seats Abraham at His left, Abraham’s face will pale, and he will say to the Lord: “My son’s son sits at the right, and I at the left!” Thereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, will comfort Abraham, saying: “Thy son’s son is at My right, but I, in a manner of speaking, am at thy right”: The Lord [is] at thy right hand (Ps. 110:5).Midrash Tehillim 18.29, translated by William G. Braude, Yale University Press Edition, pg. 261

Another Midrash,

[God says:] “Ephraim, My firstborn, you sit on My right until I subdue the army of the hosts of God and Magog, your enemies, under your footstool . . .”Midrash Alpha Betot, 2:438-42, cited in Messiah Texts

The Rashbi is attributed as saying

” . . .the Holy One, blessed be He, will fight for Israel and will say to the Messiah : “Sit at my right.” And the Messiah will say to Israel:”Gather together and stand and see the salvation of the Lord.” And instantly the Holy One, blessed be He, will go forth and fight against them . . .May that time and that period be near!”T’fillat R’ Shimon ben Yochai, BhM 4:124-26

The incredibly fascinating book by R’ Hillel Shklover, the disciple of the Vilna Gaon, entitled Kol HaTor (The Voice of the Turtledove), makes this amazing statement,

יָדִין בַּ֭גֹּויִם מָלֵא גְוִיֹּות

“He will judge the nations filled with corpses (Psalm 110:6) – The entire Psalm, beginning with “Sit on my right” was said about Mashiach ben Yosef, whose name is hinted at in the initial letters יָדִ֣ין בַּ֭גֹּויִם מָלֵ֣א גְוִיֹּ֑ות going from left to right. . .”Kol HaTor 2.61, translated by Rabbi Yechiel Bar Lev and K. Skaist, YedidNefesh.com

Indeed, the Pharisees did have a great depth of knowledge about the Tanakh:

“These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth (Zech. 4:14). This is a reference to Aaron and the Messiah, but I cannot tell which is the more beloved. However, from the verse, The Lord hath sworn and will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever after the manner of Mechizedek (Psalm 110:4), one can tell that the Messianic King is more beloved that the righteous priest.”The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan, Translated by Judah Goldin, Chapter 34, Yale University Press, pg. 137-138.Footnote: This psalm has been taken to refer to the Messiah. Cf. Epistle to the Hebrews, Chs 5-7

Matthew 22:45If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?

Matthew 22:46No one was able to answer him a word, neither did any man dare ask him any more questions from that day forth.